3 Common Brick Exterior Colors and How to Work With Them
Play up or play down exterior brick tones by choosing the right paint colors for your trim and accent areas
Jennifer Ott
November 3, 2021
San Francisco-based architectural color specialist and design writer. Jennifer's work has been featured in many print and online publications. Her recently-published book, "1000 Ideas for Color Schemes," is a beautifully illustrated and easy-to-navigate guide that takes the guesswork out of selecting the perfect color palette for your home or special event. For more information on Jennifer Ott Design, visit http://jenottdesign.com/.
San Francisco-based architectural color specialist and design writer. Jennifer's... More
Builders have used bricks as a construction material for millennia. And while today’s bricks are manufactured in a much different fashion, they don’t look all that different from those used in ancient times. Typically made from local clay, natural brick colors range from soft creams and grays to darker and bolder hues such as yellow, red-orange and brown. Some of these tones can pose a challenge when trying to come up with a suitable exterior paint color scheme. But as a color consultant, I’ve come up with a few go-to approaches for homeowners who have common brick exteriors.
To Paint or Not to Paint?
That is the main question when it comes to working with existing brick cladding on your home.
Properly installed brick is a durable and low-maintenance exterior cladding, but the minute you cover it with paint, you have a finish that has to be repainted every five to 10 years, depending on the quality of the prepping and painting and the local climate.
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That is the main question when it comes to working with existing brick cladding on your home.
Properly installed brick is a durable and low-maintenance exterior cladding, but the minute you cover it with paint, you have a finish that has to be repainted every five to 10 years, depending on the quality of the prepping and painting and the local climate.
Find a house painter near you
Painted brick is also susceptible to damage from moisture that can get trapped inside the brick, which cannot properly drain or dry out.
I’m not entirely opposed to painting exterior brick. Certainly, if you strongly dislike the natural brick color, or the brick is in bad condition and the repair work renders it unattractive, then painting might very well make the most sense.
But if you opt to paint the brick, you should be willing and able to invest in a top-notch professional paint job using high-quality, vapor-permeable paint and be comfortable with future prep and repainting.
Should You Paint Your Brick House?
But if you opt to paint the brick, you should be willing and able to invest in a top-notch professional paint job using high-quality, vapor-permeable paint and be comfortable with future prep and repainting.
Should You Paint Your Brick House?
In my 15 years of assisting clients selecting exterior colors and materials, I’ve found that the three brick colors homeowners struggle with the most are red, yellow and brown.
So here are some tips and examples for working with these hues if you don’t want to paint over the existing brick.
So here are some tips and examples for working with these hues if you don’t want to paint over the existing brick.
1. Working With Red Brick
If your home is clad in red brick and you want to play down the red color, select accent colors in neutral hues, such as the shades of gray shown on this Colorado home by SH Built.
Some red bricks have subtle bits of warm or charcoal gray. Try picking up on those hues for trim and accent colors. This will form a cohesive palette that doesn’t fight with the red.
Additionally, the ombre effect employed on the gable of this home, rather than the brick cladding, acts as the focal point.
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If your home is clad in red brick and you want to play down the red color, select accent colors in neutral hues, such as the shades of gray shown on this Colorado home by SH Built.
Some red bricks have subtle bits of warm or charcoal gray. Try picking up on those hues for trim and accent colors. This will form a cohesive palette that doesn’t fight with the red.
Additionally, the ombre effect employed on the gable of this home, rather than the brick cladding, acts as the focal point.
10 Surefire Ways to Boost Curb Appeal
For a similar look: Cool neutrals such as these three shades of gray offer a visual break from the ruddy tones of red brick.
If you don’t have an area on the home that can take an ombre effect, you could use the lightest gray for window trim and darkest gray for the roof fascia boards and front door.
If you don’t have an area on the home that can take an ombre effect, you could use the lightest gray for window trim and darkest gray for the roof fascia boards and front door.
If you want to play up the red brick, go for an accent color that strongly contrasts with the red-orange, such as blue or green, the latter of which is shown on this United Kingdom brick home by Guy Taylor Associates.
Contrasting colors, especially those opposite one another on the color wheel (for example, red versus green or orange versus blue), each amp up the perceived color intensity of the other. Likewise, if you want to play up interesting architectural details on a home clad in red brick, paint them a color in the green-blue family.
Contrasting colors, especially those opposite one another on the color wheel (for example, red versus green or orange versus blue), each amp up the perceived color intensity of the other. Likewise, if you want to play up interesting architectural details on a home clad in red brick, paint them a color in the green-blue family.
For a similar look: Play up the red-orange tones of the brick with a contrasting cool organic green color for trim and other small accents on the home.
2. Working With Yellow Brick
Yellow brick is a bit easier to work with since it’s typically lighter and more neutral in appearance than red brick. But you still need to consider whether you want to highlight or downplay the brick.
A neutral accent color similar in value (lightness versus darkness) to the brick will play well with the brick and prevent it from standing out.
A soft, warm gray that is neither lighter nor darker than the yellow brick helps break up the brick when used as a large accent on the home. This United Kingdom home by TFQ Architects is a good example.
Yellow brick is a bit easier to work with since it’s typically lighter and more neutral in appearance than red brick. But you still need to consider whether you want to highlight or downplay the brick.
A neutral accent color similar in value (lightness versus darkness) to the brick will play well with the brick and prevent it from standing out.
A soft, warm gray that is neither lighter nor darker than the yellow brick helps break up the brick when used as a large accent on the home. This United Kingdom home by TFQ Architects is a good example.
For a similar look: This gray strikes the right tone for a yellow brick home and can help downplay the impact of the yellow.
If you prefer to amp up the visual impact of the yellow brick, pick an accent color that is darker and cooler than the yellow brick. The cool charcoal gray color used on the roofline fascia of this Ireland home, as well as the front door, punctuate the brick.
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For a similar look: A strong, cool gray can accent lines and highlight yellow brick. Lighter warm gray hues bridge the two contrasting colors.
3. Working With Brown Brick
Brown brick is solidly neutral, so you can pair it with just about any color you want. It’s all a matter of how much you want the brick to stand apart from other elements of the house.
Bold front door and trim colors, such as the black and red hues used on this Atlanta home by builder DesignSpec Atlanta, will really highlight the brick.
Brown brick is solidly neutral, so you can pair it with just about any color you want. It’s all a matter of how much you want the brick to stand apart from other elements of the house.
Bold front door and trim colors, such as the black and red hues used on this Atlanta home by builder DesignSpec Atlanta, will really highlight the brick.
For a similar look: This traditional color palette works well on a traditional brown brick home. A bright red door is eye-catching and welcoming.
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Accent colors similar in hue or value, such as those used for this Australian home by Building Designers Association of Australia, cause the brown-hued brick to blend. This home has a neutral and mostly low-in-contrast palette, so none of the materials or colors particularly stand out. Instead, they all pull together for a balanced look.
For a similar look: This light taupe hue won’t fight with brown brick, but because it’s a smidge lighter and cooler than the brick, it adds subtle variation of color and texture to the exterior, keeping it from appearing too brick-heavy.
Your turn: How have you accentuated or downplayed brick on your home?
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Your turn: How have you accentuated or downplayed brick on your home?
More on Houzz
Read more stories about curb appeal
Browse exterior photos
Find a local design pro
Shop for exterior products
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Our house is a weird combination of light orangey and light to medium gray brick, with (I kid you not!) numerous scattered bricks with white wash! This basically translates to a PINKISH color. Also, the house is pretty big, and sorta modern, so only minimal trim which is at least a bright creamy white, and the new roof we had to put on is sorta black (thanks, 35+ year old house!).
The first time I saw our house (10+ years ago) I wasn't sure I could deal with driving up to my pink house everyday. But we loved the inside and the wooded setting, so I've learned to live with it.
Now we must get a new front door (seriously, pieces of glass are falling out, so basically holes in the door). Thinking of painting the new door a nice dark black, not so exciting, but maybe a bit more sharp/stylish. Can't seem to pick a color that would compliment the house and not be too colorful as to draw attention to the pink. This article is food for thought. I agree, more photos, please!
Our 1924 house has solid masonry walls with blonde brick on the exterior that was in bad shape when we moved in. It needed a lot of tuck-pointing in addition to a good scrubbing to remove paint drips and stains. I didn’t want to paint it the brick because I knew it would trap water vapor inside the wall. So instead, after some trial and error, I ended up using skim coat of tile grout to even out the color and fill in missing mortar. I scrubbed the entire surface with a thin grout mix. It was a lot of hard work but it looks great and is holding up well after 15 years.
I live in a gorgeous neighborhood with traditional brick front homes. Most trim is white and the shutters and door are usually black or some dark color. While I love the black, I am hoping to do something a little different. So please consider more examples of traditional homes with subtle colors.